Whole-body cryotherapy

Domain XII · Complementary, energy & biofield

What it is

WBC exposes the body briefly to extremely cold, dry air or nitrogen vapour inside a purpose-built device. The sources describe two device families, which are often confused:

Format

• Course. Clients often attend repeated sessions or buy memberships. The IIR group states that WBC prescribed for clinical conditions should be medically driven and delivered in a clinical setting.
• These phases are not separate sessions. They are woven into ongoing therapy, usually across one to three conversations, then revisited when use changes. Move to the next phase when the client's use and their reasons are clear (1 to 2), when the client can state what they expect and how they will…

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Commercial spas, gyms and franchises, usually with non-medical operators. In the US the treatment has been described as "largely unregulated".
• Training and accreditation. The IIR group states that facility accreditation and training curricula for WBC operators remain to be addressed. No recognised operator certification route is set out.
• United States. The FDA has cleared or approved no WBC device for medical claims. At the time of a 2015 death, a news report stated that the FDA had no oversight of these treatments. Oversight fell instead to state business-licensing, cosmetology and occupational-safety bodies. After the 2015 death, Nevada's cosmetology board shut the spa and fined it for lacking a business licence. State regulators closed its…

Evidence status, as the guide reports it

• Evidence status, one line: France's Inserm (2019, commissioned by the Direction générale de la santé) found only modest, very short-term effects in methodologically weak studies. It also found genuine safety problems, and stated that cryotherapy cannot claim to treat cancers or serious somatic…

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• Escalating frequency and distress when sessions are missed. Working signs: less urgency, flexible use.
• Fear of retaliation, especially for employees. Working signs: the client makes an informed choice about reporting.
• Minimising injuries, shame, fear of losing a job. Working signs: the client obtains care and the conditions are reported.
• Complicated grief, PTSD symptoms, self-blame. Working signs: less intrusive rumination and re-engagement with daily life.
• A client who refuses all medical contact. Respect their autonomy, but record your advice and revisit it. Working signs: the client reports a medical review took place.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.